By Lara Harmankaya
December
On Thursday, Nov. 16, Sciences Po students united behind the cause of protecting free speech and blockaded the Menton campus. From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., they barricaded the entry with determination in protest of “Sciences Po's policy of censorship against any student support for Palestine,” as voiced in the email sent out by Solidaires the day of the blockade. Their persistence was forced to come to a conclusion with the arrival of police forces who physically dragged students away from the gates. This momentous day, for many, was the culmination of tensions in a growingly-hostile campus atmosphere following the events of Oct. 7. Now, more than a month later, it is important to look back on this event and evaluate whether real change has been effectuated since. Have students’ and the administration’s attitudes improved? What do Science Po students think about the event in hindsight?
To understand the extent to which things have changed since, we must identify the causes that induced the blockade in the first place. For the students I have spoken to (whose identities will not be disclosed throughout the rest of this article to ensure their safety) the primary impetus for participation was a feeling of concern that there was an active curtailment of expression by the administration. One student described this as a prevention of “any opinion, or any input related to Palestine especially, but also about the situation in general.” There were undeniable clashes of opinion that prevailed among the polarized student body, but what elevated such contentions was the apparent bias of the school’s administration when determining which acts of expression constitute as acceptable. This was evinced by the fact that the activities of the student club, Palestine: Understanding the Struggle (Sciences UTS), were largely restricted. Similarly, the administration’s interference in some students’ private social media accounts was interpreted by many as an act of censorship. For one student, the problem was the “threatening” way in which this was done, not the actual act itself. This, compounded by “the total lack of support by the administration “in response to threats” received by some students online, contributed to the very “atmosphere of denunciation” that prompted the blockade. The invitation to participate that was sent out at 7:15 a.m. through email that morning, therefore, was the final push for a row of dominoes that were already shaking by tremors deep underneath. The Palestinian cause is embraced by many students on our campus. Therefore, creating the impression that holding this opinion is not supported by the campus intensified the impression of censorship. One student, who had not read the email before arriving on campus that morning, describes this sentiment when explaining why she participated in the blockade: “seeing the Palestinian flag hanging from the railing and a sign saying ‘ceasefire now’ was really all that I needed to sit down with the others.”
The course of events that took place during and immediately after the blockade presented the students sitting in front of the campus gates with many frustrations and hopes. From the refusal to broadcast the meetings that were taking place by student representatives and the administration, to the arrival of the police, a general feeling of disappointment with the responses of the administration was felt by many students. Students conceded that it is understandable that the administration wished to reopen the campus without having to cancel all of the planned lectures for the day. However, they could have searched for an alternative means to reach a resolution. One described the presence of the police as “unnecessary”; “We were just a bunch of students sitting and calling for our right of free speech – it was almost laughable when we saw the police arrive in full riot gear with shields and batons.” Many, therefore, were of the opinion that there should have been a “formal apology from the administration regarding their attitudes and actions,” especially for the treatment of the students by the police because there was “a bit of violence there.”
There is a consensus among the students I spoke to that the blockade was effective. In the most obvious terms, the disruption it caused succeeded in turning the spotlight on the pressing issue. With French news outlets and Mentonese locals now also conscious of the students’ protest and demands, they could no longer be ignored. “It made the administration realize, not just what were we asking for, but the general sentiment – which was a very a frustrated one.” Given the isolation and the small size of the Menton campus, one student argued, other means of protest, such as a campus walk-out, simply would not have been as “publicly seen.”
Since then, students I have spoken to argue that things have changed for the better, at least to some extent. They pointed out that there is now greater “sensitivity” from the administration regarding the issue and an “awareness that we want to talk about it and have it discussed on campus.” The recent holding of two conferences centered around Palestine and the Israel-Hamas war, for many students, was therefore a manifestation of a promising beginning of a more constructive academic environment. The relations between the administration and students seem to have also improved, particularly “regarding student safety” according to one student. This should continue to remain as a priority to avoid politically-charged conflicts within the Sciences Po community.
Moreover, efforts by students to arrive at a point of mediation have been enacted since; more students are now acknowledging the importance of not posting or saying disrespectful statements that can easily be construed as inappropriate or offensive. Like the students themselves, the administration is also showing signs of a greater willingness to become involved in constructive discussions. This “shift in tone” is more in line with the expectations of students who came to this institution with the hope of engaging with diverging variants of political thought and opinion. Although declaring that the tensions that were prevalent in the pre-blockade environment have dissipated would be going too far, it can be stated that the very need for recognition and reconciliation that brought about the blockade is now finally being responded to. Whether real policy changes will be implemented is more ambiguous, and the work to attain true freedom of speech has not yet been finalized, but at least it has left the ground. We have the blockaders to thank for that.
The key takeaway from this consequential moment in the history of the Menton campus is that Science Po students, after all, are resolute in their commitments to free speech. This is precisely why they are the students of this institution.